Use this play to:
Identify areas where your institution wants to make an impact with OER, including impact points that motivate key stakeholders to engage (such as student success, textbook cost savings, or academic ownership). Set near, medium, and long term goals for OER adoption and impact, and identify how you will measure progress towards these goals.
Note: Asterisk denotes this is a proven, high-impact play.
Running the Play
The best time to reach new faculty is at the start of the school year. See if you can present to part-time faculty about your work to lower the cost of textbooks for students. It’s also important to remind the faculty who do the hiring of faculty to talk to adjuncts your institution’s commitment to OER. A simple message that you value the work of open education will go a long way.
Part-time faculty have the potential to reach a lot of students. Let’s say you hold a workshop on OER and you “only” have three part-time faculty show up. That might seem like a failure, right? Consider how many students those part-time faculty members reach with their teaching and you’re actually making significant impact. The Utah Valley University’s Psychology department, for example, sets up course shells that they share with all of their adjunct faculty when they are hired. Cerritos College’s business department supports their adjunct faculty with “master classes” that adjuncts can customize or adopt as is. Making the adoptions of courses easy and approachable for your adjuncts is time well-spent on behalf of your students.
Pro-tip:
Ask your department chairs for a list of new part-time faculty so that you can reach out personally to them. It’s a nice way to welcome new part-time faculty to your campus. Invite them for a coffee-conversation. Ask them about their experience with OER at other institutions–you might get new ideas from them and gain a new champion as a result.